Eisner confirms Disney could buy Henson and Muppets soon

[Luke]

You could even go pre-84. There was the time when Jim wanted to buy Disney. Then there was the first time Jim asked Eisner to buy the Henson Company and he said the Muppets weren't hot enough and to go away (in polite terms).

Y'see Jim Hill didn't tell ya about all that ! Huh Huh ?

He has been amazingly quiet hasn't he ?

 

[Zack the Dog]

Yeah where is that Jim Hill guy anyway?

zack,

 

[Chilly Down]

I thought the 84/85 incident was when Jim tried to buy Disney. Anyway, ironically, the first time I heard about Jim trying to buy Disney...was in a Jim Hill article. Not that I'm his biggest fan or anything, but I'll give credit where it's due.

 

[BoyRaisin2]

Yeah I knew about the time Jim wanted to buy Disney, just didn't write it down for some reason.

And from Jim Hill I got the info of Jim wanting Disney to buy Henson in '85, but from newspaper articles I have from the time the actual merger was going on, some of them said Eisner had informally tried to get Henson under the Disney umbrella once he took control of the company in '84. So, either way, there were "talks" around this period.

As for JH's whereabouts, I'd wait 'til his next "Why For?" article at his website, and see if he mentions the Muppets. The last time he talked about them, he seemed to be leaning away from Disney buying JHC (remember the turkey vulture and "Downer" he was talking to on the phone?). Though I think he'll probably still say something interesting.

 

[Luke]

No, Eisner was never interested in Henson when he first took control - Jim approached him but he didn't think the Muppets were hot enough. A few years later when Henson were doing more stuff, Henson approached Eisner again and then you got the failed merger we all know about and they were the only talks that ever took place. So those articles are wrong i think, or at least according to the Brillstein book.

 

[radionate]

Originally posted by BoyRaisin2
As for JH's whereabouts, I'd wait 'til his next "Why For?" article at his website, and see if he mentions the Muppets... Though I think he'll probably still say something interesting.

Like what?

"I knew the kids were bidding all along"

"Disney pulled out like I said they would because the kids were bidding"

"I know the whereabout of Elvis!"

I'd rather read my Alphabet Soup.

 

[BoyRaisin2]

Not talking about Jim Hill here, but I hate it when journalists lie or exaggerate. For example, the New York Post article "Eisner Nears Muppet Rescue" on May 5, saying, as the title suggests, that Disney was close(r) to buying Henson, then a mere two days later, the Henson family ends up buying the company at 6am CST. Adding to that, it was revealed, that the Hensons started their pursuit two weeks before because Disney apparently BACKED OUT of the bidding then and it was Classic/Sesame REALLY nearing a deal with EM.TV, which thankfully never came to fruition.

Since that's true apparently, then what the freak was that May 5 article about then, with the "Disney may pay $100 million - $70 million in cash and $30 million in assumed debt" stuff? Even saw Neil Cavuto's show on Fox News on May 5, and on the screen it said "NYP: DISNEY SEEN BUYING JIM HENSON CO. FROM EM.TV FOR $70 MIL". And that was the first time I had EVER seen a mention--even if it was just words on a screen--of EM.TV or the Henson sale in general, so it was a head trip to me.

Anyway, I mean, what is with these multiple anonymous sources? Someone needs to make a book on this whole thing, or Muppet Central should get back into the interview business and talk with Brian Henson or Werner Klatten or something 'cause I've been going nuts!

And that's my rant.

 

[trekkie1701E]

I honestly think that some people were just too anxious for Eisner to purchase the muppets. I mean, there were some diehard "everything Disney touches turns to gold" people on various Disney message boards who were drooling at the prospect of "Disney's Muppets."

When the Henson's bought the JHC, that shut them up. He!! ... some of them probably didn't even know Jim Henson had kids

 

[Luke]

Originally posted by BoyRaisin2
but I hate it when journalists lie or exaggerate.

Sure a lot of it was spin, but a lot of it was fact. Some news seemed about two weeks out of date, and other stories over the two years were obvious leaks from Allen & Co to get more companies interested in the bidding. I'd think a lot of the stories about Disney a week or two before the end were to persuade Disney not to walk away. The more people that think Disney is going to buy the Muppets, the more pressure there is on them to do it, and they get to see people's reaction to it. We know at one point they were very close because of the Eisner statement - he doesn't do favors for anyone so that must have been true.

I would imagine that one of the reasons Disney backed away, as well as the whole German politics things, was that possibly EMTV wouldn't sell them just the characters and tape library at the right price and the other obstructions were what prevented them from making a move on the entire company which i'm sure EMTV was glad to get rid of in one piece. If it wouldn't have been Henson kids/Disney/Sesame then they would have started breaking the company up more i think.

 

[sarah_yzma]

Originally posted by radionate


"I know the whereabout of Elvis!"

I'd rather read my Alphabet Soup.

I don't know...my soup always has bad words

Sarah

hey if he can tell us where the king is we could make some cash